"It was Bush's fault!"

As we all know from listening to the President, it was the budget in years 8-1 BB (Before Barack) that is the root of all of our problems. And those budgets were, of course, entirely the work of one George W. Bush and his evil minions (or, if you prefer, henchmen. Henchmen and henchwomen? Henchpersons...)

New York Times¹, June 5, 2008:

The Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to a $3 trillion budget blueprint that calls for more spending than President Bush requested for education, highway construction and other domestic programs.

The House is expected to approve the measure later this week. It will not be submitted to the president for his approval and will not become law, but creates a framework for action by Congress on spending and taxes in the coming year.

Senator Barack Obama of Illinois joined other Democrats in voting for the budget, which was approved 48 to 45. Senators from both parties embraced Mr. Obama and congratulated him when he showed up on the Senate floor, hours after clinching the Democratic presidential nomination.

His chief rival for the nomination, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, was not present and did not vote, but she was in town for a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

The budget was written almost exclusively by Democrats.

"We have passed a fiscally responsible budget, and that is a major accomplishment," said Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota and chairman of the Budget Committee. "It provides tax relief for the middle class. It invests in energy, education and infrastructure. It will expand health coverage for kids."

Of course, you can't believe anything in the NY Times, right?


By the way, the budget deficit for fiscal 2007, the last budget passed by a Republican Congress and signed by a Republican President, was $162 Billion. President Obama yesterday proposed a budget for fiscal 2011 with a $1.56 Trillion deficit. Keep that in mind the next time you hear him blame George W. Bush and the Republican Congress for the massive deficits.



¹ - Robert Pear. (2008, June 5). Senate Approves Framework for Spending in Coming Year :[National Desk]. New York Times (Late Edition (east Coast)), p. A.27. Retrieved February 2, 2010, from Banking Information Source. (Document ID: 1489864351).